The High Prosecutors' Office today indicted retired Cabinet official Hu Peng-nien (胡鵬年) and businessman Cheng Ming-chia (鄭明嘉) for cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department to establish organizations in Taiwan.
The Taiwan High Court ruled to continue holding the two incommunicado, after they were first detained in late September last year.
The office after completing its investigation indicted the two for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) by developing organizations for China.
Photo: Yang Hsin-huei, Taipei Times
Prosecutors said they are recommending a heavier sentencing of at least 10 years in prison for Cheng, who has denied all wrongdoing, while seeking a lighter sentence for Hu, who has confessed to the crimes.
Cheng, who has long conducted business in China, previously held a key position in an organization affiliated with the CCP’s United Front Work Department, they said.
He was also a former non-voting attendee of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body of the CCP, they said.
To protect the interests of his businesses in China, Cheng recruited Hu, who had taken a teaching position in China in 2021, to receive instructions directly from CCP Taiwan-affairs personnel to recruit targets in Taiwan, they added.
Hu and Cheng allegedly attempted to recruit active and retired military personnel and political figures to obtain classified military information, they said.
Hu further targeted young political figures across party lines, seeking to obtain internal and confidential information from government agencies and representative bodies, the investigation found.
The case shows the CCP’s intelligence-gathering operations have expanded from military personnel to the next generation of politicians, with methods continuing to evolve, the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau said.
Prosecutors and investigators launched multiple search operations and summons beginning in September last year, detaining Hu and Cheng incommunicado.
Cheng and Hu repeatedly returned to Taiwan to develop their espionage network, contacting village chiefs, retired civil servants and defense contractors, the investigation found.
They arranged for those people to travel to China for vetting purposes and to be assigned tasks by the CCP, it found.
Although most of their recruitment attempts proved unsuccessful, they still posed a serious threat to national security, prosecutors said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
The Philippines would likely be involved in any conflict over Taiwan due to its proximity to the democracy claimed by China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said, reiterating a stance that risks angering Beijing. “In the Philippines, we do not have a choice because Taiwan is so close to the Philippines and we have almost 200,000 Filipino nationals living and working in Taiwan,” Marcos said in an interview with Japanese media in Manila on Monday. The Philippine leader’s comments come ahead of a state visit to Japan next week, where he is to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss security
RSS